Sunday, October 31, 2010
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
Chris and I attended the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on October 30, 2010 in Washington, DC. It was a lot of fun, but we got there late, and couldn't see or hear the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert show. Here are two signs I made - they were a hit among the nearby crowd. The picture was taken by a syndicated news photographer - that's me in the left foreground, and Chris is in the red coat to the right of me.
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Throwing our Babies out with the Bathwater
This was published in the April 8, 2010 Trenton (NJ) Times.
Over the past couple of weeks, New Jersey’s new governor has turned our public education system inside out, and has vilified our teachers, the very people in whom we trust the future success of our children. This governor, while his intentions may be honorable, is demonstrating his proclivity for radical surgery – not with a scalpel; not with a hatchet; rather, with a chainsaw. His proposed massive cuts to public education, announced 6 days before school districts’ budgets were due, will reverse decades of progress, and reverberate for years to come.
It wasn’t so long ago that teachers’ salaries were discerned as woefully inadequate. Their salaries haven’t improved much – it’s just that their contracts, many of which were cast in better times, are seemingly more generous than what would be negotiated today. The governor is “asking” teachers’ unions to renegotiate contracts, while at the same time, decrying the pension program the state has failed to fund. Negotiations require give and take; the governor is proposing that teachers give or NJ will take.
Where is the public outrage? Parents, who for so long have demanded so much from public education, seem to be standing by in silence. In our double income society, teachers often serve as surrogate parents, acting as mentors, confidants, and role models. The decimation of our educational system will not stem the flow of jobs out of state, improve the lives of our children, or truly reduce overall costs. In a system that is driven by incentives to teach students to pass certain tests, and in which the teachers are so constrained by “political correctness” and fear of lawsuits, the governor’s proposed financial blow is too much to bear. Instead of fixing what’s broken, it will break the whole system.
Most teachers are highly educated and extremely dedicated, devoting much of their non-class time to serving their students. Specialists teach vital skills that are the bare minimum in the 21st century – reading, research, computer science and more; they challenge our brightest students and brighten our challenged ones. While many teachers have their unpaid summers off, they spend much of the summer taking courses (at their own expense) and readying their classrooms for the next school year. In addition, they often work nights and weekends preparing for class, and purchase things for their classrooms out of their own pockets. How many other professionals would be expected to do the same thing – and do so willingly?
Teachers’ unions provide representation for a large group of employees, and negotiate contracts that, on average, are fair and equitable to their members. One could argue that such unions are too powerful and use the threat of job actions to force their will. But the fact is that many union teachers continue to work without contracts (sometimes for years) because of their dedication to their profession and their students. Again, how many other professionals would be expected to do the same thing – and do so willingly? Perhaps the reason that teachers need a strong union is that no one else will stand up for them.
Governor Christie hasn’t fully transitioned from his persona as a tough prosecutor. His speeches, if you listen carefully, resemble a prosecution: first, he makes a bold accusation; then he selectively presents evidence to support his assertions; and finally, he ends with a summation that wraps it all up. But our teachers and their unions are unaccustomed to being defendants. As a further injustice, Governor Christie also assumes the role of judge, making and interpreting the rules, and instructing an unsuspecting jury.
It is very clear that Governor Christie feels that the NJEA, and by extension, its members, are guilty of wrongdoing and need to be punished. In his prosecutorial style, he’s painted the NJEA as the criminal, and teachers as accessories. Some of it is sincere (though heavy-handed), but some is surely showmanship. As governor, though, use of the bully pulpit should be tempered to maintain a balance between righteous indignation and constructive criticism, and preserve the dignity of those who deserve neither.
Make no mistake, the budget situation is dire. With high unemployment and social service costs on the one side, and reduced tax receipts on the other, something needs to be done. But it can’t be done overnight, and it can’t be on the backs of our already underpaid and overworked teachers. The proposed reductions will surely add to the rolls of unemployment, further reduce tax receipts, and destroy a lot of goodwill among hard-working, generous, caring professionals at a time when their best efforts are needed the most.
Parents, stand up and unite behind your children’s educators; you’ve seen their great work. Senators and Assemblymen/women, stand up for the very survival of our public education system. Governor, you’ve gotten everyone’s attention, but please stand down and work constructively with your education professionals to build a better system. The livelihoods of our children, our most precious resource, depend on it.
Over the past couple of weeks, New Jersey’s new governor has turned our public education system inside out, and has vilified our teachers, the very people in whom we trust the future success of our children. This governor, while his intentions may be honorable, is demonstrating his proclivity for radical surgery – not with a scalpel; not with a hatchet; rather, with a chainsaw. His proposed massive cuts to public education, announced 6 days before school districts’ budgets were due, will reverse decades of progress, and reverberate for years to come.
It wasn’t so long ago that teachers’ salaries were discerned as woefully inadequate. Their salaries haven’t improved much – it’s just that their contracts, many of which were cast in better times, are seemingly more generous than what would be negotiated today. The governor is “asking” teachers’ unions to renegotiate contracts, while at the same time, decrying the pension program the state has failed to fund. Negotiations require give and take; the governor is proposing that teachers give or NJ will take.
Where is the public outrage? Parents, who for so long have demanded so much from public education, seem to be standing by in silence. In our double income society, teachers often serve as surrogate parents, acting as mentors, confidants, and role models. The decimation of our educational system will not stem the flow of jobs out of state, improve the lives of our children, or truly reduce overall costs. In a system that is driven by incentives to teach students to pass certain tests, and in which the teachers are so constrained by “political correctness” and fear of lawsuits, the governor’s proposed financial blow is too much to bear. Instead of fixing what’s broken, it will break the whole system.
Most teachers are highly educated and extremely dedicated, devoting much of their non-class time to serving their students. Specialists teach vital skills that are the bare minimum in the 21st century – reading, research, computer science and more; they challenge our brightest students and brighten our challenged ones. While many teachers have their unpaid summers off, they spend much of the summer taking courses (at their own expense) and readying their classrooms for the next school year. In addition, they often work nights and weekends preparing for class, and purchase things for their classrooms out of their own pockets. How many other professionals would be expected to do the same thing – and do so willingly?
Teachers’ unions provide representation for a large group of employees, and negotiate contracts that, on average, are fair and equitable to their members. One could argue that such unions are too powerful and use the threat of job actions to force their will. But the fact is that many union teachers continue to work without contracts (sometimes for years) because of their dedication to their profession and their students. Again, how many other professionals would be expected to do the same thing – and do so willingly? Perhaps the reason that teachers need a strong union is that no one else will stand up for them.
Governor Christie hasn’t fully transitioned from his persona as a tough prosecutor. His speeches, if you listen carefully, resemble a prosecution: first, he makes a bold accusation; then he selectively presents evidence to support his assertions; and finally, he ends with a summation that wraps it all up. But our teachers and their unions are unaccustomed to being defendants. As a further injustice, Governor Christie also assumes the role of judge, making and interpreting the rules, and instructing an unsuspecting jury.
It is very clear that Governor Christie feels that the NJEA, and by extension, its members, are guilty of wrongdoing and need to be punished. In his prosecutorial style, he’s painted the NJEA as the criminal, and teachers as accessories. Some of it is sincere (though heavy-handed), but some is surely showmanship. As governor, though, use of the bully pulpit should be tempered to maintain a balance between righteous indignation and constructive criticism, and preserve the dignity of those who deserve neither.
Make no mistake, the budget situation is dire. With high unemployment and social service costs on the one side, and reduced tax receipts on the other, something needs to be done. But it can’t be done overnight, and it can’t be on the backs of our already underpaid and overworked teachers. The proposed reductions will surely add to the rolls of unemployment, further reduce tax receipts, and destroy a lot of goodwill among hard-working, generous, caring professionals at a time when their best efforts are needed the most.
Parents, stand up and unite behind your children’s educators; you’ve seen their great work. Senators and Assemblymen/women, stand up for the very survival of our public education system. Governor, you’ve gotten everyone’s attention, but please stand down and work constructively with your education professionals to build a better system. The livelihoods of our children, our most precious resource, depend on it.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Joe
On March 5, 2009, my remarkable brother-in-law, Joe Johnson, passed away after a courageous battle against lung cancer. I wrote this tribute for him, and finished it several days before his passing, but did not have a chance to share it with him.
I grew up, the second oldest of six children, in central New Jersey, near the shore. My baby sister and older brother were the radical bookends of our clan, testing the boundaries with our parents, and helping to keep the foibles of the middle four in check. When I went to college, I joined a fraternity, and added many Brothers to my already sizable family. One day, I met a young freshman from a town near my parents’, and he chose me as his Big Brother, essentially a mentor. Not long after, my baby sister called to tell me that she was dating someone she really liked, and he was related to someone I knew. It turned out that she was dating the younger brother of my new fraternity brother. Eventually, they married, and now my Little Brother’s Little Brother is married to my little sister.
Joe is a great guy. Stocky in build, he’s always looked healthy and strong. As a longshoreman, he worked the docks in north Jersey for awhile, until he worked his way up to becoming a Captain for Circle Line, ferrying folks around the Statue of Liberty and across the Hudson River to Manhattan. On one trip, he even let my young son “drive” the boat, thrilling him and worrying the heck out of my wife.
Joe is the kind of guy who will do almost anything for anybody. He was a great son-in-law and friend to my father, who passed away last summer, and the two of them were often like peas in a pod. Every now and then, though, Joe would mischievously provoke Dad by asking him about doctors, ostensibly the bane of his existence. And Joe would also push Dad to achieve more. I remember a time about eight or nine years ago, when Dad was nearing the end of a long project, almost single-handedly reroofing the house he built about 50 years earlier. I had recently started helping Dad, respecting his leisurely pace; he was becoming a little nervous about being on the roof and had begun to welcome the help. Joe came over one day, and talked Dad into finishing the last ten percent in one shot. Actually, he made it tough for Dad to say, “No,” by simply ripping off the rest of the old roof.
About six years ago, Joe got the news that we all dread – he had cancer, a particularly nasty kind of non-small cell lung cancer. It was the same type that had claimed his own father at an early age. Joe’s genetic predisposition certainly increased his risk, but no one ever would have ever suspected it, given his apparent health and age (early forties). He had surgery to remove the cancer and half of one of his lungs, and followed that with rounds of radiation and chemotherapy.
For a while, things were looking good – he went back to work, got most of his energy back, and returned to doing most of the things he did before. His continuing treatments have been difficult, and at times, he’s had to slow down, but his recovery from the surgery was nothing short of remarkable. He has beaten unbelievable odds with his determination, and his indomitable spirit and drive. While incurable, his cancer has found a formidable foe.
I’ve now known Joe for over thirty years. In that time, I’ve never known him to feel sorry for himself or feel that he is better than anyone else. Ever since his initial diagnosis, Joe has made a point of enjoying life and his family. He’s spent a lot of time with his three wonderful sons, sharing their love of baseball, enjoying outdoor sports, and taking them places. I know that he’s great for my sister, and a great dad for his boys. His example of class and fatherhood is one that he can truly be proud of, and the world is certainly a better place because of a guy named Joe.
Joe
I grew up, the second oldest of six children, in central New Jersey, near the shore. My baby sister and older brother were the radical bookends of our clan, testing the boundaries with our parents, and helping to keep the foibles of the middle four in check. When I went to college, I joined a fraternity, and added many Brothers to my already sizable family. One day, I met a young freshman from a town near my parents’, and he chose me as his Big Brother, essentially a mentor. Not long after, my baby sister called to tell me that she was dating someone she really liked, and he was related to someone I knew. It turned out that she was dating the younger brother of my new fraternity brother. Eventually, they married, and now my Little Brother’s Little Brother is married to my little sister.
Joe is a great guy. Stocky in build, he’s always looked healthy and strong. As a longshoreman, he worked the docks in north Jersey for awhile, until he worked his way up to becoming a Captain for Circle Line, ferrying folks around the Statue of Liberty and across the Hudson River to Manhattan. On one trip, he even let my young son “drive” the boat, thrilling him and worrying the heck out of my wife.
Joe is the kind of guy who will do almost anything for anybody. He was a great son-in-law and friend to my father, who passed away last summer, and the two of them were often like peas in a pod. Every now and then, though, Joe would mischievously provoke Dad by asking him about doctors, ostensibly the bane of his existence. And Joe would also push Dad to achieve more. I remember a time about eight or nine years ago, when Dad was nearing the end of a long project, almost single-handedly reroofing the house he built about 50 years earlier. I had recently started helping Dad, respecting his leisurely pace; he was becoming a little nervous about being on the roof and had begun to welcome the help. Joe came over one day, and talked Dad into finishing the last ten percent in one shot. Actually, he made it tough for Dad to say, “No,” by simply ripping off the rest of the old roof.
About six years ago, Joe got the news that we all dread – he had cancer, a particularly nasty kind of non-small cell lung cancer. It was the same type that had claimed his own father at an early age. Joe’s genetic predisposition certainly increased his risk, but no one ever would have ever suspected it, given his apparent health and age (early forties). He had surgery to remove the cancer and half of one of his lungs, and followed that with rounds of radiation and chemotherapy.
For a while, things were looking good – he went back to work, got most of his energy back, and returned to doing most of the things he did before. His continuing treatments have been difficult, and at times, he’s had to slow down, but his recovery from the surgery was nothing short of remarkable. He has beaten unbelievable odds with his determination, and his indomitable spirit and drive. While incurable, his cancer has found a formidable foe.
I’ve now known Joe for over thirty years. In that time, I’ve never known him to feel sorry for himself or feel that he is better than anyone else. Ever since his initial diagnosis, Joe has made a point of enjoying life and his family. He’s spent a lot of time with his three wonderful sons, sharing their love of baseball, enjoying outdoor sports, and taking them places. I know that he’s great for my sister, and a great dad for his boys. His example of class and fatherhood is one that he can truly be proud of, and the world is certainly a better place because of a guy named Joe.
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